February 19, 2012

Comedy for One, Comedy for All

Courtney McGuire nervously stepped up to the microphone at the crowded Culture Shock in downtown Ithaca. Wearing her pinstriped New York shirt, she let loose a string of cuss words that sent the audience into stitches.

After 18 months of planning and construction, EcoVillage at Ithaca completed a solar panel array in December that will provide a majority of the community’s electrical power. The system, which cost nearly $270,000, will generate 50 kilowatts of electricity — enough to offset between 50 and 60 percent of the community’s power consumption, according to a report released by EcoVillage.